Our Physical Therapy Team
Dr. Mark Kevern
PT, DPT, SCS
Dr. Kevern earned his Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Duke University in 2004. He has extensive clinical expertise in treating a wide variety of patients from professional baseball, soccer, and tennis athletes to senior patients for joint replacement and fall prevention. In 2006, Dr. Kevern became a Sport Certified Specialist by the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties. He served as the team physical therapist to the University of South Carolina Upstate athletics department. Most recently, Dr. Kevern was the Director of Clinical Education for High Point University’s DPT Program.
Dr. Kevern has presented at numerous national, regional, and local meetings and symposiums in the area of orthopedics predominantly on upper extremity sports injury and prevention. He is an active member of the American Society of Shoulder and Elbow Therapists, ASSET, the ASSET Evidence-Based Medicine Committee, and the American Physical Therapy Association.
Dr. Kevern has two peer-reviewed publications in the area orthopedics:
Kevern, MA; Beecher, M; Roa, S. Reliability of Measurement of Glenohumeral Internal Rotation, External Rotation, and Total Arc of Motion in Three Different Test Positions. Journal of Athletic Training. Sept/Oct 2014: Vol 49: (5).
Krupp, RJ; Kevern, MA; Gaines, MD, Kotara, S; Singleton, SB. Long Head of the Biceps Tendon Pain: Differential Diagnosis and Treatment. JOSPT. Feb 2009: Vol 39: (2).
Duke University
Dr. April Kevern
PT, DPT
Dr. Kevern has over 10 years of experience as a PT. She received her B.S. in exercise science from Campbell University in 2003. In 2006 she graduated from Duke University with her Doctorate in Physical Therapy.
Dr. Kevern is an experienced orthopedic physical therapist and completed Maitland training for manual therapy and is dry needling certified. She also received advanced training in pelvic Health and treats men and women of all ages with pelvic health concerns, including chronic pelvic pain, urinary, and bowel incontinence, pre and postnatal pain/dysfunction, post pelvic and abdominal surgery management, and sexual dysfunction.
Over her career, Dr. Kevern has also worked extensively with neurological disorders including vestibular dysfunctions, balance disorders, stroke, Parkinson’s disease, traumatic brain injury, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy and more.
April is also a licensed Perrin Technique Practitioner specializing in ME/CFS and long Covid. ME/CFS self-help resource.
Originally from Charlotte, April loves living in Asheville with her husband, Mark, and their 2 children. She enjoys reading, exercise, connecting with other Asheville moms, travel, and hiking with her family.
Duke University
Dr. Rachel Shumate
PT, DPT
Rachel Shumate is an Asheville native. She has lived in other parts of NC, but this is her home. Rachel initially graduated college with a degree in photojournalism and Spanish.
As a photographer, she photographed weddings, team portraits, college advertising and assisted the team photographer for the Charlotte Hornets (Bobcats at the time) and the Carolina Panthers. Rachel also taught Spanish to middle school students for 5 years.
She then chose to pursue her doctor of physical therapy degree which combines her love for creativity, problem solving and education.
Rachel primarily treats orthopedics and loves working with all ages. She also has her certification in dry needling.
Her goal is to empower people to take care of themselves and help them live their best life! When Rachel is not working, she loves reading, redoing furniture, hiking, exercising and hanging out with her husband and 3 pups.
Western Carolina University
Dr. Tiffany Boone
PT, DPT
Tiffany Boone, DPT, graduated with her Doctorate of Physical Therapy in 2019 from Texas Woman’s University in Dallas, TX. She enjoys helping a variety of patients reach their goals and improve their quality of life.
In her free time, she enjoys reading and biking, spending time with her husband, Chase, and playing with her two dogs, Leo & Mia.
Dr. Eric Leeseberg
PT, DPT, OCS
Eric grew up on the west coast of Florida before attending Florida State University and graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Finance. Eric spent almost four years as a project manager for a Fortune 500 company before moving to the west coast to compete on the Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) tour. During this time, Eric also worked as rehab director within a fitness organization and built a business as a personal trainer specializing in physical rehabilitation. This experience, combined with his own battles with injury, cultivated a passion for helping others overcome obstacles and return to the things they love most. This passion ultimately propelled Eric to pursue a career in physical therapy. He traded the beach for the mountains and graduated with a Doctorate of Physical Therapy in 2017 from Regis University in Denver, CO. Following his doctoral training, Eric continued his education by completing an Orthopedic Residency through Evidence in Motion and became a board-certified Orthopedic Certified Specialist (OCS) in 2019. Eric is level-2 certified in trigger point dry needling through Evidence in Motion and has received advanced training in concussion/vestibular management and manual therapy over his years as therapist. Eric continues to be an avid learner in the field (and in life) and is constantly working to develop new and improved strategies to help patients achieve their goals. He works with a wide range of patients including those with neck, back, or shoulder pain, those suffering from concussion or vestibular disorders, and athletes looking to recover from injury and/or improve their overall performance. When he’s not in the clinic, Eric enjoys staying active and spending time with his family, often while exploring the many great outdoor opportunities Western North Carolina has to offer. His main interests include hiking, camping, backpacking, sand volleyball, golfing, weightlifting, snowboarding, and stand-up paddleboarding.
Dr. Zoie Hensley
PT, DPT
Zoie Hensley grew up in Taos, New Mexico before attending Tennessee Technological University for a B.S. in Exercise Science. Zoie went on to earn her Doctorate in Physical Therapy from High Point University. During her doctoral training she completed specialized course work including Performance Art Medicine, Advanced Sport Intervention and Assessment, Pain Neuroscience, and received a certificate in Medical Spanish.
In addition, Zoie worked at the High Point University Pro-Bono clinic to provide physical therapy to the underserved community where she helped develop a program that utilized yoga and the power of breath-work to reduce pain and improve function in patients with chronic low back pain.
In addition to her Doctor of Physical Therapy education, Zoie has personal experience with sport and injury, and is passionate about advocating for her patients and creating individualized treatments for each special patient and their goals.
Outside of the clinic Zoie enjoys drawing, listening to music, hiking, weightlifting, and snuggling with her kitty-cat Zara.
Kayo Fitzhugh
Kayo Fitzhugh grew up in Fairfax, VA. She attended The University of Southern Mississippi to play soccer and study deaf education. After starting a family, her focus shifted toward supporting and educating women during childbirth, leading her to become a certified doula. For the past two decades, Kayo has dedicated herself to homemaking and homeschooling her five children. Having her own history of injuries and the need for PT, she is excited to join the team at Compass Physical Therapy. Helping people has always been her passion, and she is thrilled to continue doing so in her new role. Outside of the clinic, she enjoys staying active by playing soccer, running, and hiking with her dog. She also loves traveling, cooking, and being the biggest fan on the sideline for her children’s sports teams.
Nathaniel Barcelona
Nathaniel is one of our front desk associates who works remotely to help with front and back-office tasks in the clinic. As a virtual assistant, he is trained to take on insurance verification, prior authorizations, claims, billing and medical scribing tasks. He is a licensed physical therapist in the Philippines. In his leisure time, he enjoys visiting his home health patients, reading finance books, and going to the gym for a workout.